Discovering a Routine of Learning
It is 7 p.m. and still baking at our campsite. With the help of a cool breeze blowing across the lake, the evening sun quickly dries sweat and lake water from our clothes. Some of us are still wearing sunglasses to keep from squinting as we journal daily experiences. Bikes are lined up for routine chain lubing, dishes are being washed, and we feel good to be at our destination. Maybe we should take another dip in the lake to cool down as the evening fades.
At present, we are a group of eleven persons weaving various paradigms and contexts into our current shared experience. Eastbound for nearly a week, we are striving to understand each other through daily challenges. As we are mostly camping for the first three weeks, each evening one of us will share pieces of our personal story with the group in the evenings. We hope that by understanding each others’ contexts, we will gain insight on how our group can effectively communicate to those we meet this summer.
It’s not uncommon to bike lined up side by side, talking the day away. This morning a police officer pulled us over and scolded us to ride in single file.
Road time grants space to explore our stories and expand conversations. Topics range from the contexts we each bring: Gatorade’s effectiveness with dehydration and electrolytes, personal travel experiences, mysticism and Thomas Merton, profanity, startled jaywalking coyotes, the morning’s newspaper headline from Israel, free radicals and radical feminism, promoting and sustaining ethical relationships, sunburn, head coverings, volcanic fossils, flat tires and bike parts, church discipline and politics, and oozing brown bananas that need to be eaten. Our conversations are a combination of the stories we bring and encounters along the road. We are learning from each other about how to communicate as we move eastward.
We pulled into the small town of Dayville late last afternoon, ecstatic to learn that the local Presbyterian Church exclusively offers an overnight refuge to weary cyclists. Located along the classic cross-country bike route, the church building reaches out to the cycling community by providing accessible water, a kitchen, internet access and a sanctuary to line with sleeping bags. We were blessed by the presence and wisdom of two other cyclists traveling westward, only a few days shy of finishing their transcontinental goal. As we have been discussing our visions for the church, we have decided that a first step toward positive change would be opening all churches as a safe overnight resting place for cycling sojourners.
Today we crossed our highest pass to date at 5277’ and Sarah stretched her arm to the sky to make sure it was a mile above sea level. Tomorrow will bring two mild passes and another hot day in the sun. We hope to descend to the border of our approaching Promised Land, the state of Idaho and a rest day in Boise.